Kroger Dog Food Recalled for Aflatoxin

by Mike Sagman
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The Kroger Company has announced a voluntary dog food recall of certain packages of pet foods sold in some of its retail stores due to the possibility of contamination with aflatoxin.

Kroger Company Logo

Aflatoxin poses a dangerous and significant health risk to pets.

Complete details regarding this recall are available within this Kroger Pet Food Recall Press Release dated 12/18/2010.

Or from the FDA Press Release dated 12/18/2010.

Aflatoxin is a dangerous chemical toxin produced as a by-product of the growth of the fungus Aspergillus flavus on contaminated cereal grains.

Signs and symptoms of aflatoxicosis include…

  • Reluctance to eat
  • Severe or bloody diarrhea
  • Sluggishness and lethargy
  • Yellow-tinted eyes or gums

Dog food recalls involving aflatoxin poisoning can be potentially serious matters for both humans and pets. In suspected cases, consult a veterinarian immediately.

So, take precautions… and be sure to tell everyone you know.

You can report complaints about FDA-regulated pet food products by calling the consumer complaint coordinator in your area.

Dog Food Advisor IconThe Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.


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  • Patrick
  • Patrick

    My dog Kelsey died 01-31-2012 – Kidney Failure.

  • Alberto garibay

    I’ve been feeding my dog old yeller for 6 months. His doing fine. My dog is a german shepard.

  • betsy pharr

    Guess what? I could not figure out why my precious English Setter started having seizures in the last two days. He is prone to seizures per his breed, but 4 in less than 24 hours. And bloody stool. The Gordon Setter has been throwing up bile. We just bought a bag of Old Yeller and I realize that when I fed them Danny had seizures within an hour. They are off all food, going to see Dr. in a.m. if no more seizures tonight. I am so mad I could spit nails. I will never buy any more dog food at Krogers.

  • edward ash

    wow i am so sorry to all those who have lost their pets!
    i have 5 germanshepards and i taken them off old yeller 50lb bags
    since the recall but put them back on it because krogers told me that it was safe so boght another 50lb bag this month an guess what all of my dogs got bloody diaheria and they were throwing up
    so i called krogers and they said they cant stop stop selling because no one has complained since the last recall.
    please lets get together and make krogers stop from loosing our beloved babies! im done buying old yeller and they better pray that
    none of my babies die!

  • marissa

    Hey everyone, a friend of mines dog just had some of this food the other day and passed away tonight so right now everyone I know im advising them not to buy this brand.

  • Mindy

    Krogers needs to make this right (monetary) I fed my dogs that dog food too. My dogs got really sick but luckily have not passed away. I can tell you if they did someone would be getting sued really fast. My dogs are my babies!!!

  • Angela Quiggins

    DESIREE, CONTACT kROGER RECALL AT 1-800-632-6900.
    kEEP CALLING TILL SOMEONE CALLS YOU BACK IT TOOK ME
    TWO WEEKS TO GET A CALL BACK.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Desiree… Sorry to hear of your problems. Unfortunately, I have no further information on this recall.

  • Desiree

    My dog was eating the kroger brand food and in August 2010 she got terribly sick with all the symptoms listed above. She had to stay at the vet for round the clock care for 4 days. The vet warned me that if she did not stay she would die. I ended up spending around $2,000 to save her. Is the dog food manufacturer reimbursing for all the damage caused?

  • Lin

    I am very very sory for those who’ve lost dogs and who have sick dogs as a result of this food.

    I must agree with the individual who said to watch your ingredient labeling. And Mike is so right about dog food that doesn’t have a publicly accessible website.

  • fred

    my dog for 7yrs is no more because of this dog food old yeller(50LB) my dog meant a lot to me the pain and suffering not having him around starting to take it told.we need answer on what next to help close or get pass this.

  • Angela Quiggins

    Hi. all I fed my dogs was kroger and old yeller dog food my dog has been sick for two weeks. His kidneys are shuting down. Lost about 25lbs hes part lab and should weigh 75-80lbs. Ive been trying to get someone with Kroger to call me back but that has not happened yet. Just wandering if anybody has had a call back from them.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Pam… I’m so sorry to hear about your loss. The only recourse you have is to contact the Kroger Customer Service number mentioned at the bottom of their recall notice. Wish I could be more help.

  • Pam

    My dog died from complications of the liver on Dec. 22. He had eaten the Old Yeller Chunk dog food 50 pound bag. I did not know of the recall until after he consumed the food. I have contacted Kroger, but they will not give us any answers. They just say that they will call us back. They have yet to call us back. I do not know what else to do. Is there help?

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Amy… I’m so sorry to hear about your dog’s death. If your surviving pets are showing the signs of aflatoxin poisoning mentioned in this article, then (by all means) be sure to consult your vet immediately.

  • Amy

    We also buried our black lab, Jake on Dec 23rd. He was an older dog (11 yrs) and stayed in the yard most of the time- so we didnt notice anything particular about his feces. We did notice he had dropped weight over the last month and decided to switch to a better brand of food, and we started adding rice and burger to his dry food. He died in the middle of the night on Wednesday.

    We have two other dogs that seem healthy. But my concern now is that they may have some long term affects from the aflatoxins. One is the littermate of Jake, so she is older too. She has always been heavier and I will watch for any changes in her… Should I have her checked for liver problems? My beagle is 3 and seems fine too. Before we changed dog food, she had bloody diahrrea- but we thought she was in heat. Could she have been sick too!?

    I can’t mentally handle anymore pets dying…

  • Renae Taylor

    This dog food caused my beautiful puli to die within a week. He became lethargic and had a hard time going to the bathroom. Then he developed anemia over night. He turned yellow and died four days later. The vet had him on everything that he could, but the overall diagnosis was the dog food. Now with the recall, I know why my dog died. Crappy dog food…. I know now not to buy kroger brand dog food. Nothing will bring back my precious baby… I hope that Kroger can make this right before another puppy or dog goes into the ground.

  • Dino

    I have had 2 dogs die in the last 2 – 3 months. They both were fed kroger dog food and have been fed the same dog food for 2 years. I found out about the recall the day after I buried the 2nd dog, our black lab. I not one to say that a check from kroger would make everything better, but it would be decent of Kroger to do something for their many customers who have lost pets or have had sick pets. I don;t have autopsies or anything to prove it in court, but I think that the timing of the recall and the time of my pets deaths is really not coincidental. There is 1 thing I will never have to worry about, and that is never knowing where my pets are because they are both buried in the back yard!!! Kroger, I hope you make this right!!!

  • Mike

    If people would read their dog food labels and see all the crap that’s in it, this wouldn’t happen.

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Larry… In the FDA’s News Release about the Kroger recall, I see no mention of Old Yeller Doggie Treats. You may want to call Kroger’s “hotline” to find out of they’re covered in the recall. Hope your dog gets well soon.

  • Larry

    Saw the recall on Old Yeller dog food. Don’t use it, but have given my dog Old Yeller Doggie Treats. Monday evening, he had all the symptoms shown and we took him to an emergency animal hospital. They diagnosed him with canine HGE, and abnormal kidney blood work. So far have spent $522 in treatment. Is is possible to get Mars to foot the bill?

  • http://edi.inter-americanproducts.com/_edisupplier.htm nikki

    supplies Kroger but I also found a post from back in 2008 a recall by Mars on pet pride cat food http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2008/ucm112497.htm

    so I assume Mars makes the pet pride cat food as its on their recall list back in 2008 witch is the same weight 3.5# and 18# bag being recalled again back in 2008 they also recalled ok backed it up mars does make pet pride cat food heres a link http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2008/ucm162414.htm

    here is another link also witch was back in 2008 on mars recal list witch clearl shows pet pride cat food http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ArchiveRecalls/2008/ucm112497.htm

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    To All… Just spoke with Kroger corporate communications director, Denise Osterhues. She was quite helpful and informed me that Kroger manufactures all their pet food in their own Kroger-owned manufacturing facility.

    Aside from the unfortunate news of the recall itself, the fact that Kroger manufactures its own products is good news. This makes it highly unlikely there will be any other aflatoxin-related recalls associated with this event.

    She also advised me Kroger will replace any and all products related to this recall. She suggests consumers bring all recalled products back to any company store for a full refund.

    Stay tuned for further information.

  • Melissa

    Brandy-take your dog to the vet immediately-and the pups too. WHy risk it? Also, look on the bag for us! Does it say who manufactors this food?

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Brandy… I’m so sorry to hear about your dog’s diarrhea. Unfortunately, since I’m not a veterinarian, you’ve asked a question I don’t feel qualified to answer. Due to the serious nature of aflatoxin poisoning, it’s important for you to take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible. Sorry I can’t be more help.

  • Brandy

    Just got back from Kroger. Found out about the Old Yeller dog food. I usually buy different food for them from my feed store, but I bought a bag of this food because they was running low, and needed something to get them threw the weekend. I found the bag, and it has the UPC on it that was recalled. One of my dogs is very sick, she has bad diahrea, and she is not acting like herself. I didn’t think of it being the food. She has pups that are still feeding from her, will they get sick too? And what should I do about her? Any help would be great! I’m a little freaked out!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    We contacted Kroger Customer Service today in an attempt to uncover the identity of the company that manufactures these foods. And they refused to tell us claiming this information to be “proprietary”. Will attempt to to make another contact with the media relations staff tomorrow. Will keep everybody aprised of any developments.

  • sandy

    who going to pay my vet bill cause my dog is sick

  • Marc

    I found this on lifewithdogs, which gives all the details about the recall and the specific sub brands involved. Hope this helps. http://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2010/12/kroger-recalls-pet-foods/ Thanks Mike for an excellent website!

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Jim and Melissa… The recall appears to include Pet Pride cat food as well as Old Yeller and Kroger Value Chunk dog foods. I’ve never reviewed any of these so I’m not sure where they’re manufactured. What’s more, I’m always somewhat skeptical of any dog food that doesn’t have a publicly accessible website. These days that would be a minimum consumer expectation.

    Even if it is a large company (like Mars, Dad’s or Purina?), production would likely be limited to a single manufacturing location. And of course, when you say “widespread”, that would depend on how large that facility is and how many other brands are produced at that same plant.

    We’ll all have to be on alert over the next few days as the story shakes out. I’ve been looking for an FDA bulletin confirming the recall. But so far, no news.

  • jim

    I am going to bet Mars or Dad’s

  • Melissa

    I would like to know that as well. I have been searching with no luck for the manufactor’s identity. Apparently something called “old yeller” was part of the recall as well

  • jim

    Mike, aflatoxin recalls tend to be wide spread. Who makes the dry foods for Kroger?

  • http://DogFoodAdvisor.com Mike Sagman

    Hi Bill… According to the Kroger news release itself, it does not appear to include any canned products. The Kroger Company link is currently unavailable. But the link in my recall announcement article (via United Business Media) should now be click-able. Hope this helps.

  • http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013440&id=1489207506&l=5ba48b1205 Bill Mason

    Does this apply to the ” Kroger ” brand of canned dog foods ?